Community Meetings To Discuss Growth Management

September 10, 2004 - The Wake County Public School System today announced a series of public meetings to inform and involve the public in the upcoming student assignment process.

School enrollment grew by 4,500 students last year and tenth day enrollment this year indicates an increase of 5,400. Such dramatic growth, coupled with state-mandated third-grade class size reductions, will require short-term responses for next year as well as the ongoing construction program that provided seven new schools this year and will provide eight additional schools in the next two years. Cedar Fork Elementary is scheduled to open in 2005-06 and seven new schools are scheduled to open in 2006-07.

"The dramatic enrollment growth we've seen in the last two years requires that we take immediate action to provide space for these students," said Don Haydon, associate superintendent for the Wake County Public School System. "While we meet these immediate needs, we are envisioning a new planning and scheduling process that ties school construction and assignment more closely together and gives families a longer term view of new school openings and student assignment."

The community engagement meetings will provide families the opportunity to hear the most current information used in making decisions on school construction and student assignment, as well as an opportunity to provide input into the development of new plans.

The school system will hold a total of 12 meetings in the next two months at locations throughout the county. Following are the meeting dates and locations:

Round One

October 12	Sanderson High School	5500 Dixon Drive, Raleigh, NC 27609
October 13	Wakefield High School	2200 Wakefield Pines Dr., Raleigh, NC 27614
October 14	Green Hope High School	2500 Carpenter Upchurch Road, Cary, NC 27519
October 19	Garner High School	2101 Spring Drive, Garner, NC 27529
October 20	Holly Ridge Middle School	950 Holly Springs Road, Holly Springs, NC 27540
October 21	Knightdale High School	100 Bryan Chalk Lane, Knightdale, NC 27545

Round Two

November 8	Sanderson High School	5500 Dixon Drive, Raleigh, NC 27609
November 9	Wakefield High School	2200 Wakefield Pines Dr., Raleigh, NC 27614
November 10	Green Hope High School	2500 Carpenter Upchurch Road, Cary, NC 27519
November16	Garner High School	2101 Spring Drive, Garner, NC 27529
November 17	Holly Ridge Middle School	950 Holly Springs Road, Holly Springs, NC 27540
November 18	Knightdale High School	100 Bryan Chalk Lane, Knightdale, NC 27545

All meetings are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. and last for approximately two hours.

In Round One meetings, Associate Superintendent Don Haydon and Growth Management Senior Director Ramey Beavers will discuss:

Current profiles of area schools,
Data for at least two years,
Projected growth in that area,
Profile of that growth,
Projected school construction,
Needs of schools, improvements to sites, and
Keeping the 'big picture' as a priority.

In Round Two meetings, Growth Management Senior Director Ramey Beavers will discuss:

Short-range student movement,
Timing of future school openings,
Possible movement for these future schools, and
Other priorities that might be unique to specific schools or groups of schools.

The goals for these meetings are to provide parents and other interested community members more information about school construction and assignment issues, gather input from parents regarding school assignment, growth, proposed changes in assignment, school sites and construction schedules and identify for parents potentially affected schools when new locations are known.

After the series of meetings, the 2005-06 growth management proposal for the school system will be developed and is expected to be released in January. It will be available for public comment. The final plan is expected to be presented to the Board of Education in February, when public meetings will be held prior to its final decision.

-wcpss-